Lesson Transcript

Welcome to GermanPod101.com’s “Deutsch in 3 Minuten”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn German.

In the last lesson, we learned how to use the verb gehen which means "to go" in German.

In this lesson, we will continue our lesson series dedicated to very common German verbs.

The second verb in our series is machen, which means "to do." But as in English, you’ll see that the meaning of this verb is quite broad and it can be found in many different situations.

So imagine someone asks you Was machst du?

That means "What are you doing?" in an informal form.

So if you are doing your homework, for example, you will say Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben.

[slowly] Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben.

So let’s break down this answer:

First we had:

Ich mache which is "I am going to do."

It is the 1st person form of the verb machen, which is "to do" in present indicative tense.

After it was meine which is the possessive pronoun used for "My" in plural.

Finally we had Hausaufgaben which is a noun and means "homework." In German, this word is always plural.

Note that in German, you can use the present indicative to say that you are doing something right now.

For example if someone asks you to come and give him a hand but you are preparing the meal, you can say Entschuldigung, ich koche gerade! which literally means "Sorry, I am currently cooking!" Here we are using the present indicative.

So now, let’s have a broader look at what can you say with this verb machen in German.

It's a good verb to know because you'll use it a lot!

It can mean "to prepare" as we saw just before, but it can also stand for "to practice", as in Ich mache Karate which is "I’m practicing karate."

Sometimes, it can also stands for "to work" as in Ich mache Marketing which is "I’m working in marketing."

It can also replace a lot of other verbs, for example "to buy" as in Ich mache Einkäufe which is "I’m shopping." Or Ich mache sauber which is "I’m cleaning."

This verb can also express the verb "to make" or "to create" in English, as in Ich mache meine eigene Kleidung which is "I make my own clothes." Also you can use it in Ich mache Skulpturen for "I do sculptures."

Now it’s time for Laura’s Insights.

In German, we often say Was machst du heute Abend? that means What are you going to do tonight?

For example, if you run into a friend in the city, you can ask it -- it will sound very natural! Was machst du heute Abend?

In this lesson, we learned how to use the verb machen in many different contexts and I’m sure it will help you a lot!

In the phrase "ich koche gerade" there is no use for the verb "machen", but you could instead say "Ich mache gerade Essen" which is also commonly used to refer to "I am cooking right now". I hope this helps!

If you have any question, please let us know.

Thank you!

Albert

Team GermanPod101.com

Michael

Wednesday at 5:12 am

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Hello,

Please tell me in which way is used machen verb in "ich koche gerade" phrase.

Best regards

Jolyn

Tuesday at 1:01 pm

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Ich mache Einkaüfe online gerade.

GermanPod101.com

Tuesday at 7:04 pm

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Hi wout,

Unfortunately, the expression does not exist in German. But there are several commonly used proverbs, which share the same meaning. For example:

1. Ich werde daraus einfach nicht schlau (I can't figure it out)

2. Das hat weder Hand noch Fuss (I can't make head or tail of it)

If you have any question, please let us know.

Thank you!

Albert

Team GermanPod101.com

wout

Thursday at 10:38 pm

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Hallo,

Ich könne dar keine Kuche noch Eieren von machen. (is a Germanized Dutch proverb which means Idon't understand this or I dont know what to do with this situation.)

Do you this expression also in German? (hope I didn't make to many type errors)

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